1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to electronic commerce and, more particularly, relates to methods and systems for social point-of-sale (POS) mobile shopping.
2. Related Art
Consumers often shop while traveling. For example, consumers can shop while traveling around town or while traveling on vacation. Frequently, consumers make lists of items to purchase while doing such traveling. However, the lists typically do not indicate where to purchase specific items or how to locate the merchants selling these items. Typically, no check for availability of items to be purchase is performed. Thus, time can be wasted when a consumer makes a stop to purchase an item that is unavailable.
Further, opportunities to purchase desired products are commonly overlooked while traveling. Products can be available and convenient to purchase along the way, but the consumer can be completely unaware of such opportunities to purchase the products. Thus, the consumer can miss opportunities to conveniently purchase desired products and can waste time, money, gasoline, and effort driving around and shopping for the products in a substantially random (or at least poorly organized) manner.
Routing between stops to purchase or look for products can be sub optimal or even erratic. Although consumers may somewhat intuitively plan their routes, such routes are not necessarily the best routes. Indeed, consumers can get lost while attempting to locate merchants in unfamiliar areas.